Longshore workers say they don't want to strike at grain terminals

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In this June 22, 2012, file photo, a driver looks on as container trucks line up because of a labor slowdown along the highway at the Port of Portland near Terminal 6 on June 22, 2012, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, file)

Longshore workers said Monday they don't want to strike at grain terminals in the Northwest and they want to continue contract talks with terminal owners beyond a Wednesday deadline.

International Longshore and Warehouse Union spokeswoman Jennifer Sargent said the union has proposed additional dates for talks to the Pacific Northwest Grain Handlers Association, which represents the owners of six grain terminals along the Columbia River and in Puget Sound that ship wheat, corn and soybeans to Asia.

There was no immediate response from the terminal owners.

The contract ran out in September. Terminal owners made what they called a last best offer Nov. 16 and set a Wednesday deadline, at which point they reserved the right to implement it.

The union says the earliest members could vote on the latest offer would be Dec. 21-22. Union members have not authorized a strike.

"The union is motivated to keep the grain flowing as we have done nonstop for the past 80 years," Sargent said in a statement. "We believe that additional negotiating would be fruitful and have proposed additional dates to the multinational owners of the grain terminals."

Association spokesman Pat McCormack said the talks are focused on differences over work rules, not pay or benefits.

The region's nine grain terminals handle wheat, soybeans and corn from the Northwest and the Dakotas that is headed primarily for Asia. The shipments amount to about a quarter of U.S. grain exports. The contract talks affect six of those terminals. Three are in Portland, Ore., and three in Washington state, at Seattle, Tacoma, and Vancouver.

Any interruption in handling cargo would disrupt Asian markets for U.S. grain and overwhelm storage facilities in the U.S., the association said in a statement.

Top markets for wheat shipped from the Northwest are Japan, the Philippines, Korea and Taiwan, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics cited by the association. Nearly all the soybeans go to China. Yellow corn goes to Korea, Japan and China.